He leaves his Gods, his friends, and native soil, Ur of Chaldæa, passing now the ford To Haran: after him a cumb'rous train
Of herds, and flocks, and numerous servitude; Not wand'ring poor, but trusting all his wealth With God, who call'd him, in a land unknown. Canaan he now attains: I see his tents Pitch'd about Sechem, and the neighb'ring plain Of Moreh: there, by promise, he receives Gift to his progeny of all that land,
From Hamath northward to the Desert south
Things by their names I call, tho' yet unnamed), 140 From Hermon east to the great western sea; Mount Hermon, yonder sea; each place behold In prospect, as I point them: on the shore Mount Carmel: here the double-founted stream Jordan, true limit eastward; but his sons Shall dwell to Senir, that long ridge of hills. This ponder, that all nations of the earth Shall in his seed be blessed. By that seed Is meant thy great Deliv'rer, who shall bruise The Serpent's head: whereof to thee anon Plainlier shall be reveal'd. This patriarch blest, Whom faithful Abraham due time shall call, A son, and of his son a grandchild leaves, Like him in faith, in wisdom, and renown.
The grandchild with twelve sons increased, departs From Canaan to a land, hereafter call'd Egypt, divided by the river Nile.
See where it flows, disgorging at seven mouths
Into the sea. To sojourn in that land
He comes, invited by a younger son,
In time of dearth: a son whose worthy deeds Raise him to be the second in that realm
Of Pharaoh. There he dies, and leaves his race Growing into a nation, and now grown Suspected to a sequent King, who seeks To stop their overgrowth, as inmate guests Too num'rous; whence of guests he makes them slaves
speaking natural to the angel, to whom all the future was revealed. The reader will find the whole of the narrative here given in different parts of the Pentateuch.
155. With twelve sons increased a Latinism.
Inhospitably', and kills their infant males: Till by two brethren (those two brethren call Moses and Aaron) sent from God to claim His people from iuthralment, they return With glory' and spoil back to their promised land. But first the lawless tyrant, who denies
To know their God, or message to regard,
Must be compell'd by signs and judgments dire. 175 To blood unshed the rivers must be turn'd; Frogs, lice, and flies must all his palace fill With loath'd intrusion, and fill all the land; His cattle must of rot and murrain die; Botches and blains must all his flesh emboss, And all his people; thunder mix'd with hail, Hail mix'd with fire, must rend th' Egyptian sky, And wheel on th' earth, devouring where it rolls; What it devours not, herb, or fruit, or grain, A darksome cloud of locusts swarming down Must eat, and on the ground leave nothing green: Darkness must overshadow all his bounds, Palpable darkness, and blot out three days; Last, with one midnight stroke, all the first-born Of Egypt must lie dead. Thus with ten wounds 190 The river-dragon tamed, at length submits
To let his sojourners depart, and oft
Humbles his stubborn heart, but still as ice More harden'd after thaw, till in his rage Pursuing whom he late dismiss'd, the sea Swallows him with his host; but them lets pass As on dry land, between two crystal walls, Awed by the rod of Moses so to stand Divided, till his rescued gain'd their shore. Such wondrous power God to his saint will lend, Though present in his Angel, who shall go Before them in a cloud and pillar of fire (By day a cloud, by night a pillar of fire), To guide them in their journey, and remove
Behind them, while th' obdurate king pursues. 205 All night he will pursue; but his approach Darkness defends between till morning watch:
.88. The Vulgate translation of Exodus x. 21. has tam densa vi palpari queant. Our English has, darkness that may be felt 207. Defends, forbids.
Then through the fiery pillar and the cloud
God, looking forth, will trouble all his host,
And craze their chariot-wheels: when by command
Moses once more his potent rod extends
On their embattled ranks the waves return,
Over the sea; the sea his rod obeys;
And overwhelm their war. the race elect Safe towards Canaan from the shore advance Through the wild desert, not the readiest way, Lest, ent'ring on the Canaanite, alarm'd, War terrify them inexpert, and fear
Return them back to Egypt, choosing rather Inglorious life with servitude; for life
To noble and ignoble is more sweet
Untrain'd in arms, where rashness leads not on. This also shall they gain by their delay
In the wide wilderness; there they shall found Their government, and their great senate choose 225 Through the twelve tribes, to rule by laws ordain'd. God from the mount of Sinai, whose grey top Shall tremble, he descending, will himself In thunder, lightning, and loud trumpets sound, Ordain them laws; part such as appertain To civil justice, part religious rites Of sacrifice, informing them, by types And shadows, of that destined Seed to bruise The Serpent, by what means he shall achieve Mankind's deliverance. But the voice of God To mortal ear is dreadful! They beseech That Moses might report to them his will, And terror cease. He grants what they besought, Instructed that to God is no access
Without Mediator, whose high office now
Moses in figure bears, to introduce
One greater, of whose day he shall foretell;
210. Craze, bruise or shatter, from the French ecraser. Exodus xiv. 25. our translation has taken off, but Milton is nearer the original.
230. Milton has not made any particular mention of the moral law in this passage. The reason I imagine is, that the sole object he had in view was to shew the progress of events towards the appearance of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom. He had, therefore, only so far to introduce the Jewish dispensation as it typified the Messiah's kingdom or illustrated his character and actions. The moral law was unchanged and unchangeable, and belonged to no one time or system. The objections, there Zore, of Warburton and others are without foundation
And all the prophets in their age the times
Of great Messiah shall sing. The laws and rites
Establish'd, such delight hath God in men Obedient to his will, that he vouchsafes Among them to set up his tabernacle, The Holy One with mortal men to dwell. By his prescript a sanctuary is framed Of cedar, overlaid with gold, therein An ark, and in the ark his testimony, The records of his covenant; over these A mercy-seat of gold between the wings Of two bright Cherubim; before him burn Seven lamps, as in a zodiac, representing The heav'nly fires; over the tent a cloud Shall rest by day, a fiery gleam by night, Save when they journey; and at length they come, Conducted by his Angel, to the land
Promised to Abraham and his seed. The rest 260 Were long to tell, how many battles fought,
How many kings destroy'd, and kingdoms won, Or how the sun shall in mid Heav'n stand still
A day entire, and night's due course adjourn,
Man's voice commanding, Sun in Gibeon stand, 265 And thou moon in the vale of Aijalon,
Till Israel overcome; so call the third
From Abraham, son of Isaac, and from him
His whole descent, who thus shall Canaan win. Here Adam interposed: O sent from Heav'n, 270 Enlight'ner of my darkness, gracious things Thou hast reveal'd, those chiefly which concern Just Abraham and his seed: now first I find Mine eyes true opening, and my heart much eased, Erewhile perplex'd with thoughts what would become Of me and all mankind; but now I see His day, in whom all nations shall be blest, Favour unmerited by me, who sought
Forbidden knowledge by forbidden means.
This yet I apprehend not, why to those
Among whom God will deign to dwell on earth, So many and so various laws are given? So many laws argue so many sins
256. The heav'nly fires, the seven lamps, signifying the 277. John viii. 56.
283. Gal. iii. 19. Rom. vii.", 8. iii. 20. Heb. ix. 13. x. 4, 5 &c.
Among them. How can God with such reside?
To whom thus Michael: Doubt not but that sin Will reign among them, as of thee begot; And therefore was law given them to evince Their natural pravity, by stirring up
Sin against law to fight: that when they see Law can discover sin, but not remove, Save by those shadowy expiations weak,
The blood of bulls and goats, they may conclude
Some blood more precious must be paid for man, Just for unjust, that in such righteousness To them by faith imputed, they may find Justification towards God, and peace
Of conscience, which the law by ceremonies Cannot appease, nor man the moral part Perform, and, not performing, cannot live. So law appears imperfect, and but given With purpose to resign them in full time Up to a better covenant, disciplined
From shadowy types to truth, from flesh to spirit, From imposition of strict laws to free
Acceptance of large grace, from servile fear
To filial, works of law to works of faith.
And therefore shall not Moses, though of God Highly beloved, being but the minister
Of law, his people into Canaan lead;
But Joshua, whom the Gentiles Jesus call,
His name and office bearing, who shall quell The adversary Serpent, and bring back, Thro' the world's wilderness long wander'd, man Safe, to eternal Paradise of rest.
Mean while they in their earthly Canaan placed, Long time shall dwell and prosper, but when sins National interrupt their public peace, Provoking God to raise them enemies; From whom as oft he saves them penitent
By judges first, then under kings; of whom The second, both for piety renown'd And puissant deeds, a promise shall receive
310. Jesus and Joshua are the same name, the former being the Greek and the latter the Hebrew form. Jesus is used for Joshua, Acts vii. 45. Heb. iv. 8. As the whole of this part of the poem is taken from Scripture, the reader will do well to consult the marginal references of his Bible, if he be curious to see how the author has converted his scriptural knowledge to his use in this narrative, mixing with great skill history and prophecy
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